The present invention relates to an improvement in a solar collector which converges the sunlight by a lens assembly into fiber optic cables and guides the light to a desired location therethrough for lighting or other applications. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with an improvement in a mechanism for adjusting the positions of light receiving ends of the fiber optic cables into register with the focal points of lenses associated therewith.
Utilization of solar energy is a key to energy saving and attracting increasing attention in various fields today. The applicant has presented various proposals concerning effective use of solar energy. For the most effective use of solar energy, it should be availed as optical energy, that is, without being transformed into any other kind of energy, such as electricity or heat. In light of this, the applicant has proposed a system which converges solar energy to guide it through fiber optic cables to a location where lighting is needed.
In an example of the applicant's proposed lighting system, a lens unit or module comprises a lens for converging the sunlight, a frame for holding the lens, and a bottom plate closing the bottom of the lens unit. The converged sunlight is conducted by a fiber optic cable to a desired station.
The conduction of solar energy through a fiber optic cable as described above provides for lighting which is free from conversion loss or the like, realizing the most efficient use of solar energy.
The primary requisite in a solar collector of the type described is that the light receiving end of each fiber optic cable be held in register with the focal point of a lens associated therewith; otherwise, the sunlight converged by the lens would fail to be efficiently introduced into the cable.
The applicant has proposed a mechanism for manually adjusting the position of the light receiving end of a fiber optic cable into register with the focal point of a lens. The mechanism is constructed to move a cable end in first and second directions perpendicular to each other and in a third direction perpendicular to the first and second directions. Although successful to achieve the purpose, the prior art mechanism described suffers from consumption of disproportionate time and labor for the adjustment due to the manual adjustment design. Such a drawback is particularly pronounced in the case of a multi-lens type solar collector which uses a number of lens units of modules.